India’s foreign minister Salman Khurshid carried out a three-day visit to Iran starting May 3rd, and was in Beijing last week, as Pakistan conducted landmark elections. India was recently caught in a dangerous border stand off with China in the Ladakh area. The visits have taken place at a time when there is increased western pressure to isolate Iran militarily, and via economic sanctions.

As compared to Pakistan, India has mostly adopted an ‘on again and off again’ approach towards Iran.

While border tensions have surged from time to time between Indian and Chinese forces situated along the poorly demarcated border, the Indian media has created an unusual hype around recent incidents. The first intrusion allegedly had occurred on April 20th. The Indian authorities have accused Chinese forces and helicopters of straying far in to the Depsang Valley of Ladakh region. In efforts to diffuse the matter, Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid is slated to visit China on May 9th.

As PM Erdogan visits US to meet President Obama, it is clear that Turkey is slowly getting sucked in the Syrian conflict. This was further validated by the bombings on May 11 in the border city of Rehanli, which killed about 50 people and wounding more than 100. The city hosts many Syrian refugees and reportedly is a hub for rebels active in Syria. According to Turkish authorities, Syrian intelligence is the usual suspected.

When Pakistan came in to being in 1947, the world was passing through a peculiar phase that was marked by the end of World War II. In essence the creation of Pakistan, and India, was as much an outcome of the global situation, as it was an output of local struggle for independence. The timing was obviously the key. Had the Great Britain been as strong, it probably would have never agreed to the indigenous demands.

Another round of trilateral meetings between Afghanistan, Pakistan and US have started. After the latest get together in Brussels last Wednesday, John Kerry commented, “It’s fair to say that there is a good feeling among all of us that we made progress in this dialogue.

The Syrian crisis had many tangents from the get go. It was never going to be like Iraq and Libya. For one, Syria is Iran’s closest ally, whose fall may isolate the country in a way the sanctions have never been able to. Moreover, Assad’s regime has been important to the balance of power in Lebanon. Then there are concerns regarding Syria’s chemical weapons that could fall in the hands of Al Qaeda or Hezbollah linked militants, and then be used against Israel.